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Posted: January 24, 2007

ORNL seeks nanotechnology start-ups for venture forum

(Nanowerk News) Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL) has opened a call for promising early- and growth-stage nanotechnology companies seeking venture capital to apply to present their business plans at the Nano Venture Showcase on April 4, part of a nanotechnology research and industry event to be hosted at the lab.

The deadline for company applications is February 15. Application and registration information can be found at the Nanonexus 2007 website.

The most promising nanotechnology companies will be selected to present their business plans to an audience of national institutional and individual investors, influential business leaders and professional service providers. Participating venture capitalists include principals from Agile Equities, Battelle Ventures, Battery Ventures and Harris & Harris Group.

Presentations are being accepted for companies without prior institutional funding as well as those that have received at least one round of investment.

The Nano Venture Showcase is one track featured at Nano Nexus 2007 to be held April 2-4, the first event of its kind to be hosted by a national laboratory. The forum is designed to foster innovation and increase collaboration among universities, government, industry and the investment community — all critical players for commercializing new nanotechnology.

Nano Nexus 2007 is one of several initiatives launched last year by the Innovation Valley Nano Alliance to translate the world-class nanoscience resources of Oak Ridge and Knoxville into new companies and jobs. In addition to the venture showcase, the event will include a nano business competition for graduate students and a nano industry forum. The goal of the event is to create a dialogue on how each of these players can learn from each other, work together to spur innovation, and more quickly and effectively commercialize nanotechnologies.

The companies most likely to be selected to participate will be those who have a solid management team, have a clear strategy to address a substantial market, and either can show significant growth potential or have demonstrated revenues.